Crop comminuting machine



Dec. 26, 1950 J. R. D AY CROP COHMINUTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 30, 1946 Dec. 26, 1950 J. R. DAY 2,535,122

CROP COMMINUTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 3Q, 1946 v 3 SheetsSheec 2 Patented Dec. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (CROP COMMINUTING MACHINE James Russell" Day, Ottumwa, Iowa, assignorv to Deere ManufacturingCo a corporation of. Iowa Application November 30, 1946, Serial No. 713,264

. 9 Claims. (61.55-418) The present invention relates generally to crop comminuting machines and more particularly to harvesting machines of the type which pickup a swath or windrow of harvested crops from a field. chop the same into small pieces, and deliver the chopped crops to a wagon or truck disposed behind the harvesting machine.

The principal object of my invention relates to the provision of a novel and improved harvesting machine which is lighter in weight, simpler in construction, and therefore lower in cost, without sacrifice in efficiency or durability. In this accomplishment, I have provided a mobile housing, within which is rotatably disposed a pair of oppositely rotating coaxial rotors adapted to 1'0- tate in parallel horizontal planes, with cooperative cutting elements mounted thereon, respectively. The-housing is transported over the field in elevated position and is provided with a feed opening in the bottom thereof and a crop pickup device beneath the feed opening for feeding a windrow of crops upwardly into the housing. The lower rotor is provided with feed members which urge the crops upwardly between theop positely rotating rotors and the crops are comminuted by cooperative actionof the cutting e ements on the two rotors. The rotors are driven in relatively opposite directions so that arapid cutting action. can be obtained without driving either rotor at excessive speeds. The upperrotor is provided with crop propelling bladesby means of which the comminuted. crops are discharged through a conduit, which conducts them to the wagon or truck.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following description, in which reference is had to the-drawings appended hereto, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tractor and a-semi-mounted harvesting machine embodying the principles of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the-tractor and harvesting machine;

Figure 3 is a sectional elevational view, taken along a line 3-3 in Figure 1 and'drawnto an enlarged scale;

Figure 4' is a top plan view of the lower rotor of thecomminuting mechanism;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the upperrotor; and

Figure 6 is a side view of the two rotorsimopcrating position.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein Figures 1 and-2 are drawn to the samescale and Figures 3 to 6 are drawn to a scale substantially thrice that of Figures land 2, the reference numeral [0 indicates a tractor of the tricycle type which comprises a longitudinally extending body l|'- having a pair of laterally opposite extending rear axle housings I2, I3, on which-are mounted a pair of rear'traction Wheels [4, [5, respectively.- The forward end of the tractor body H is carried on a dual-wheeled dirigible truck 46 of conventional type.

The harvesting machine is indicated in its entirety by reference numeral '28 and includes a rigid frame comprising a transversely disposed structural axle member 2| and a pair of laterally spacedlongitudinally extending frame beams 22, 23', which lie along opposite sidesof the tractor body II, respectively, andare pivotallyconnected thereto by coaxial bolts 24, thereb providing for vertical swinging movement of the frame members about the transverse axis of the bolts 24, but the beams 22, 23 bear against the opposite sides of the body- H to provide for steering the harvesting machine by guiding thetractor by means of the dirigible wheels l6.

The'ends of the axle 2| are carriedon caster ing wheels 25,16,- respectively, which are carried in castering forks 21,. 28, having vertical spindle portions 29,- 39 journale'd in bearings 31,532, which are rigidly fixed, as by welding, to the ends of the axle.2l. Thus,.when the. tractor. is guided in the field, the frame supporting wheels 25,16 are free to follow themovement of .the tractor.

A crop treating housing is mountedbeneath the frame members: 22,- 23' and .axle 2|, and comprises a generally cylindrical chamber 36 having top andbottom walls-31, 38 anda pair of depending side walls 39, 4B, which extend below the bottom wall 38 on laterall opposite sides, respectively. The bottom wal1a38. curves upwardly at its forward end to form a rounded throat portion 4!, which, with the depending side Wa1ls39, 40 forms a passage ortunnel to receive the windrow of crops as the machine travels forwardly in the field. The bottom wall '381-0f the chamber 36, which. is also the top of the" crop receiving passage, isprovidedwitl'i a transverse feed opening at its rear end.

A rotarypickup device :6 is mounted beneath the; feed opening'fl i andserves to pick up the harvested crops and; feed them upwardly to the feed opening. The pickup'device 66. cans-be of any suitableor conventional'design, but is preferably of the type. disclosed in: Patent 2,347,907, granted to Hill, May 2, 1944, iBriefiy, thistype I I s of pickup mechanism comprises a cylindrical drum l' having a series of circumferentially extending slots, through wh'ch project crop engageable fingers as. The fingers 49 are supported on a plurality of rods 59 within the drum 41 and the rods 55 are journaled to permit the fingers 49 to swing between a radially extending position and a tangentially extending position. A scraper blade 52 extends downwardly and forwardly from the rear wall of the housing 35 and has its lower forward edge disposed in scraping relation with the surface of the cylindrical drum 41 and suitably slotted to receive the fingers v 19. Camming means (not shown) is provided at one end of the drum for controlling the feathering fingers 49 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art, and which is described in detail in the above identified Hill patent.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 3 to 6, the crops which are fed upwardly through the feed opening #5 into the chamber 36 are comminuted by means of a pair of coaxially disposed upper and lower rotary cutters 55, 56.

The upper rotor 55 comprises a tubular supporting shaft 52, which is disposed for rotation abouta generally vertical axis and extends upwardly through an opening in the top wall 3'? of the housing 35 and is carr ed in a ball bearing 58, which is supported in the bottom plate 59 of a gear box 5% The gear box 65 is rigidly mounted on top of the housing The rotor 55 also includes a generally horizontally disposed plate 5!, rigidly fixed to the tubular shaft 5? and having a plurality of arms preferably five, on the bottom sides of which are fixed, as by boltng, a plurality of cutting elements 55 in the form of knife blades. Each arm is provided with a vertically disposed flange or web 6 1, which is rigidly fixed at its inner end to the tubular shaft 51'and extends outwardly behind the cuttng element 63 on top of the plate 52, the outer end of the fiange 66; being turned away from the cutting element 63 in trailing relation, as indicated at 65.

The lower rotor 55 comprises a body portion or plate It mounted on a generally vertical supporting shaft II which extends upwardly through the hollow shaft 5i in coaxial relation thereto. The upper end of the shaft ii is carried in a ball bearing I2 which is mounted on the top of the gear housing 65, and the two coaxial shafts 5?, II are maintained in coaxial relation by suitable bearings l3, it, at opposite ends of the tubular shaft 5?, respectively.

The body It of the lower rotor 55 is formed with a plurality of arms '55, preferably four, each of which carries a cutting element IS on its top side, in the form of a cutter bar which cooperates with the cutting element 63 on the upper rotor 55, when the two rotors 55, 55 are rotated in relatively opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows in Figures 4 and 5. Each of the cutter bars '85 is secured to the respective arm by means of bolts W and each of the arms 55 is provided with a crop deflecting plate I8, which is inclined downwardly and forwardly in a leading direction from the cutter bar it and has a lower edge which moves in close proximity to the bottom plate 38 of the housing 3-5. The crop deflectin plates I8 engage the crops which are being fed upwardly through the feed opening 45 and urge the crops upwardly into cutting position between the planes of the cutting elements 53, T5.

The chopped crops are propelled out of the housing 35 through a tubular tangentially disposed discharge duct 85, which extends rearwardly and upwardly from a discharge opening in the cylindrical wall of the housing. The crops are propelled tangentially through the duct by means of the vertical flanges 64 and 65 which serve as impellers. A discharge pipe 8| is connected to the duct 89 through a flexible joint 82 and extends upwardly and rearwardly therefrom over one of the tractor axle housings I3 to conduct the chopped crops to a su'table wagon or truck (not shown) behind the tractor. The pipe 8| is carried on suitable brackets 83, 84, which are supported on the axle housing I3.

The rotors 55, 55 are driven in relatively opposite directions by means of a bevel pinion 90 which meshes with a pair of bevel gears SI, 92 mounted on the shafts 5?, II of the two rotors 55, 56, respect'vely. The pinion 95 is fixed to a shaft 93, which extends rearwardly from the gear box 68 to an extension housing 94, within which is disposed a pair of axially spaced roller bearings 95 for supporting the shaft 93. A sprocket 96 is fixed to the rear end of the shaft 93 outside the housing extension 94.

Power for driving the two rotors 55, 55 is obtained from the power takeofi shaft IIIB of the tractor, which extends rearwardly from the rear axle housing in the conventional manner. The power takeoff shaft I05 is connected by means of a power transmitting chain ml with a power shaft I32 which is supported in a sleeve IE3 on the axle housing I2. The chain IElI is trained over a pair of sprockets I84, I85 on the power takeofi shaft I55 and the power shaft I52, respectively. The shaft IE2 is connected through a universal joint I86 with an extensible shaft section I5! comprising a pair of telescoping elements, the section IE3? being connected through a second universal joint I58 with a shaft I99 that is journaled in a pair of fore and aft spaced bearings II), III on top of the housing 35. The shaft I 59 carries a sprocket H2 which is connected to drive the sprocket 96 through a power transmitting chain H3. A bevel pinion I I4 is mounted on the forward end of the shaft I58 and meshes with a bevel gear I I5 carried on a transverse shaft IIEE, which is journaled in a bearing block II! on top of the housing 35. Ihe outer end of the shaft IIG carries a sprocket II8, which is connected by a suitable power transmitting chain I I9 with the pickup drum 5?,

During operation in the field, the implement is driven forwardly over a windrow of harvested crops, which is picked up by the upwardly moving fingers 49 and fed through the feed opening 45. The crops are scooped up by the inclined feeder plates I8 on the lower rotor and urged upwardly over the cutter bars 75. The knives 53 on the upper rotor 55, moving in the opposite direction, chop the crops into small pieces. It will be noted that with two movable cutting elements 53, it, the tangential velocity of each of the rotors is appreciably less for the same rela tive speed between the two elements, than is the case with one movable and one stationary element. The comminuted material is engaged by the impeller blades 84 and forced outwardly by centrifugal force along the trailing ends 65 of the impellers, causing the chopped material to be propelled tangentially through the duct 88 and conduit 8|.

I do not intend my invention to be limited to the particular details shown and described herein, except as set forth in the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A crop treating machine comprising a mobile frame, a housing carried thereon in elevated position above the ground and having a feed opening in the bottom thereof, a pair of upper and lower rotors mounted in said housing by means providing for rotation about generally vertical axes, cooperative cutting elements on said rotors, respectively, means disposed beneath said housing for feeding crops upwardly through said feed opening, and feed members on said lower rotor for urging the crops upwardly from said feed opening to said cooperative cutting elements.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, including the further provision that said feed members comprise axially inclined blades adapted to deflect or scoop the crops into cutting position.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1, including the further provision that said housing is provided with a discharge opening, and said upper rotor is provided with crop propelling members rotatable therewith for propelling chopped crop material through said discharge opening.

4. A crop treating machine comprising a housing having a feed opening in the bottom thereof, supporting means on said housing for carrying the latter in elevated position above the ground, pick-up mechanism disposed beneath said housing, a pair of upper and lower rotors mounted coaxially in said housing above said feed opening by means providing for rotation about a common generally vertical axis, cooperative cutting elements on said rotors, respectively, for comminuting crops fed upwardly through said opening, and feed members on said lower rotor adapted to urge crops upwardly into cutting position between said elements.

5. A crop treating machine comprising a housing having a feed opening in the bottom thereof and a discharge opening in one side, means for transporting said housing in elevated position above the ground, a pick-up device disposed beneath said housing for feeding crops upwardlyinto said feed opening, a pair of upper and lower rotors mounted coaxially in said housing above said opening by means providing for rotation about a generally vertical axis, means for driving said rotors in relatively opposite directions, cooperative cutting elements on said rotors, respectively, for comminuting crops therebetween, feed members on said lower rotor adapted to urge crops upwardly into cutting relation, and crop propelling blades on said upper rotor for urging the comminuted crops out through said discharge opening.

6. A crop treating machine comprising a housing having feed and discharge openings therein, a pair of rotors mounted in said housing by means providing for rotation in parallel planes, cooperative cutting elements on said rotors, respectively, for comminuting crops fed through said feed opening, one of said rotors being nearer said feed opening and having feed members comprising axially inclined blades for urging crops into cutting position between said rotors, and means for driving said rotors in relatively opposite directions,

7. A crop treating machine comprising a housing having feed and discharge openings therein, a pair of rotors mounted in said housing by means providing for rotation in parallel planes, cooperative cutting elements on said rotors, respectively, for comminuting crops fed through said feed opening, one of said rotors being nearer said feed opening and having feed members comprising axially inclined blades for urging crops into cutting position between said rotors, means for driving said rotors in relatively opposite directions, and crop propelling blades on the other of said rotors for discharging comminuted crops from said discharge opening.

8. A crop treating machine comprising a housing having feed and discharge openings therein, a pair of eoaxially disposed rotors rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent said feed opening and having cooperable cutting elements for comminuting crops fed through said feed opening, one or" said rotors being nearer said feed opening and having feed members comprising axially inclined blades for urging crops into cutting position between said rotors, the other of said rotors having propelling blades for discharging comminuted crops from said discharge opening, and means ifzor driving said rotors in relatively opposite direcions.

9. A crop treating machine comprising a mobile frame, a housing carried thereon and having a bottom disposed in elevated position above the ground and provided with a feed opening and further having side walls depending below the level of the bottom and spaced apart to provide a crop-receiving tunnel, a pair of coaxially disposed rotors mounted in said housing by means providing for rotation in generally horizontal planes above said feed opening, co-operable cutting elements on said rotors, respectively, means for driving said rotors in relatively opposite directions to chop crops fed through said opening, and a pick-up device mounted in said tunnel and beneath said feed opening for feeding crops up wardly through said feed opening.

JAMES RUSSELL DAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 891,299 Smith et a1. June 23, 1908 1,585,243 Handsmann May 18, 1926 2,105,803 Barnes Jan. 18, 1938 2,160,275 Magee et al May 30, 1939 2,349,386 Stoetzl et al. May 23, 1944 

